Related Links

Okaloosa NAACP celebrates 65 years at banquet

By LAUREN DELGADO / Daily News

Published: Friday, April 12, 2013 at 05:43 PM.

NICEVILLE — Members and friends of the Okaloosa County Branch of the NAACP reflected on the organization’s rich history of service and looked to its future at its 65th anniversary dinner Friday night at Northwest Florida State College.

”We stand on the shoulders of those who come before us,” said Sabu Williams, president of the local NAACP.

The organization has a full history of speaking up for the voiceless, from representing a African American serviceman asked to move to the back of a bus in the 1950s to filing a class-action lawsuit against Eglin Air Force Base for unlawful employment practices and discrimination.

“But how did we do it?” Raymond Nelson asked after outlining the local branch’s history. “We were fired up!”

The Okaloosa County chapter has much to be proud of, as does the national organization, said the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, vice president of stakeholder relations for the national NAACP and the dinner’s main speaker. No one can capture all that the NAACP has done, he said.

“It transferred the status of African American or black people from being things to being people,” Rivers said.

By becoming a “big dog” to counter injustice in the United States, the NAACP stood up for justice and freedom, Rivers said.

“Big dogs only respect other big dogs,” he said.

After 105 years, the NAACP has stood the test of time because it has disciplined people, thought and actions, and has built its greatness to last, Rivers said.

“We don’t know when freedom is going to come,” Rivers said. “We don’t know where it will come, but we’re not stopping until it comes.”

The NAACP has room for everyone in its continuous fight for equality, Rivers said.

“There is something only you can do, and if you don’t do it it’ll never be done,” he said.

For Aron Scott, a 13-year-old member of the NAACP Youth Council, being a member brings a certain responsibility.

“It means we’re part of a select group of people who want to bring change to the world,” Scott said.

Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado can be reached at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published
without permission. Links are encouraged.

NICEVILLE — Members and friends of the Okaloosa County Branch of the NAACP reflected on the organization’s rich history of service and looked to its future at its 65th anniversary dinner Friday night at Northwest Florida State College.

”We stand on the shoulders of those who come before us,” said Sabu Williams, president of the local NAACP.

The organization has a full history of speaking up for the voiceless, from representing a African American serviceman asked to move to the back of a bus in the 1950s to filing a class-action lawsuit against Eglin Air Force Base for unlawful employment practices and discrimination.

“But how did we do it?” Raymond Nelson asked after outlining the local branch’s history. “We were fired up!”

The Okaloosa County chapter has much to be proud of, as does the national organization, said the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, vice president of stakeholder relations for the national NAACP and the dinner’s main speaker. No one can capture all that the NAACP has done, he said.

“It transferred the status of African American or black people from being things to being people,” Rivers said.

By becoming a “big dog” to counter injustice in the United States, the NAACP stood up for justice and freedom, Rivers said.

“Big dogs only respect other big dogs,” he said.

After 105 years, the NAACP has stood the test of time because it has disciplined people, thought and actions, and has built its greatness to last, Rivers said.

“We don’t know when freedom is going to come,” Rivers said. “We don’t know where it will come, but we’re not stopping until it comes.”

The NAACP has room for everyone in its continuous fight for equality, Rivers said.

“There is something only you can do, and if you don’t do it it’ll never be done,” he said.

For Aron Scott, a 13-year-old member of the NAACP Youth Council, being a member brings a certain responsibility.

“It means we’re part of a select group of people who want to bring change to the world,” Scott said.

Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado can be reached at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.